Clemson faces Alabama in Sugar Bowl, playoff semifinal

Eric Boynton Staff Writer @ericjboynton

Sunday

Dec 3, 2017 at 12:59 PMDec 3, 2017 at 9:23 PM

The No. 1 Tigers and No. 4 Crimson Tide play at 8:45 p.m. Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. No. 2 Oklahoma will play No. 3 Georgia in the other semifinal at the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif.

Clemson’s now third annual pizza party to celebrate inclusion into the College Football Playoff has shrunk to a far more intimate affair than the initial festivities two years ago, but the satisfaction remains the same.

Players, staff, and a few family members gathered at the team’s football operations building for a Sunday afternoon lunch as they received confirmation they would enter the four-team postseason No. 1 and play at the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

The only real drama was the unveiling of Alabama as the opponent for the 8:45 p.m. kickoff. The Crimson Tide and Ohio State were widely considered to be the final two considered among the selection committee’s final decision.

As expected, No. 2 Oklahoma will play No. 3 Georgia in the other semifinal at the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif. The two winners will play for the national championship Jan. 8 at Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It’s the third-consecutive season Clemson and Alabama, where Swinney played and was an assistant coach, will meet in the playoffs, splitting the last two national championships with the Tigers winning last year in Tampa, Fla. Prior to the first matchup at the end of the 2015 season, Swinney promised a pizza party if they got into the playoffs and followed through with fans enjoying 6,000 pies at Death Valley.

Swinney chuckled when asked on ESPN about playing his alma mater for a third-straight season.

“Oh man, I’m excited. Obviously they had a lot to consider from a committee standpoint. Alabama has been the standard for a long time and we’ve had a couple of huge battles with them. I think it’s only fitting that to have a chance to advance to Atlanta you’ve got a heavyweight matchup with Clemson and Alabama.”

Clemson has played in the Sugar Bowl once before, losing 7-0 to LSU on Jan. 1, 1959. Swinney played in the game twice on New Years Day while with Alabama to culminate the 1989 and 1992 seasons, the latter a Crimson Tide win over Miami for the national championship.

Swinney and Bud Wilkinson are the lone people to both play and serve as head coach of a national champion.

Clemson linebacker Kendall Joseph admitted Saturday night 90 percent of the players preferred the Rose Bowl just due to the “aura” of California where so many hadn’t visited. But it was a no-brainer for the Tigers, who had their choice of venues as the top team, to play in New Orleans both as a closer destination for fans as well as the overall preparation should they advance.

“I’m definitely thankful we don’t have to travel across the country,” Swinney said. “The Rose Bowl would’ve been awesome, but you lose another day of prep because the game has been moved (up a day) and the week is shortened. That was a challenge for us last year coming back, but we ended up winning so I can’t say it was a disadvantage, but it was a challenge.”

Clemson (12-1) secured the top spot Saturday with a third-straight ACC Championship by crushing Miami, 38-3. Alabama (11-1) was fifth in last week’s rankings and pretty much required then No. 4 Wisconsin to lose the Big-10 Championship to Ohio State Saturday. The overnight debate then raged among the committee with Alabama edging Ohio State (and dark horse Southern California) for the final spot.

“We know (Alabama) is and they obviously have a great reputation and I’m excited to play them,” Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins told ESPN. “But it didn’t really matter who we played because everybody (in the playoffs) is a good team at this point.”

Clemson lost the 2015 national championship to Alabama, 45-40, in Glendale, Ariz., before winning 35-31 last season in Florida on a Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow touchdown throw in the final seconds.

Wilkins called a third-straight meeting, “Really cool. It’s just funny we’re playing them every year and we’re looking forward to the challenge. It doesn’t matter about them at all because at the end of the day it’s all about us, how we prepare and how we play.”

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